Drop box test
International shipping is tough and with possible rough handling all the way until the shipment arrives at the destination, products inside the cartons may not appear to be in the perfect condition as you expected, despite the carton in good shape and cause a lot of loss. It is obviously not enough if you just reply on the suppliers’ words. So how could you be sure that your packaging is good enough?
There’re many ways but one of the perfect ways to find out your products would stay sound and safe in the carton is drop box test before packing.
Drop box test, also known as free fall test, is by dropping a master carton 10 times from a certain height. Height is based on the weight of the carton, see below:
| US | Metrics | ||
| Weight | Drop Height | Weight | Drop Height |
| 0-20 lbs | 30 in | 0 – 9 kg | 76 cm |
| 21 – 40 lbs | 24 in | 10 – 18 kg | 61 cm |
| 41 – 60 lbs | 18 in | 19 – 27 kg | 46 cm |
| 60 – 100 lbs | 12 in | 28 – 45 kg | 30 cm |
| 101 – 150 lbs | 8 in | 45 – 68 kg | 20 cm |
To ensure the reliability of the test, procedures below are to be strictly followed:
- Inspect the product and make sure they are in good condition;
- Pack the product in the box and then boxes into the carton. Packaging shall match actual packaging to be used;
- Select a place with hard floor, like concrete;
- Perform the drop test as per following sequence:
| Sequence # | Orientation | Specific face, edge or corner |
| 1 | Corner | most fragile face-3 corner, if not known, test 2-3-5 |
| 2 | Edge | shortest edge radiating from the corner tested |
| 3 | Edge | next longest edge radiating from the corner tested |
| 4 | Edge | longest edge radiating from the corner tested |
| 5 | Face | one of the smallest faces |
| 6 | Face | opposite small face |
| 7 | Face | one of the medium faces |
| 8 | Face | opposite medium face |
| 9 | Face | one of the largest faces |
| 10 | Face | opposite large face |
This process is to simulate all the possibly conditions during the shipping and after the test is completed, packaging and products are to be inspected immediately to reveal the result.
If none of below results is discovered, the packaging has passed drop box test, congratulations!
– Damage found on export cartons;
– Damage found on unit box or retail box;
– Scratch, deformation, dent or other damages found on the product;
– Functionality not appear to be correct
Sufficient packaging is vital to ensure products are in good condition when they arrive at the destination. MES recommends that your quality team adopts the drop box for every batch before packing and document it properly.
